1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical axis adjusting method, an optical module producing method, an optical axis adjusting apparatus, and an optical module.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional optical output device in which a light-emitting element and optical fiber are optically coupled to each other through a lens, deviation of an optical axis is corrected to eliminate irregularity in the optical coupling. The supporting component of the optical fiber is irradiated with a laser beam, and the correction is performed based on deformation of the spots irradiated with the laser beam. Such a structure is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 63-163416, for example. FIG. 1 illustrates the disclosed structure.
As shown in FIG. 1, an optical output device 100 includes a supporting member 110 that supports a light-emitting element 140, a supporting member 120 that supports a condenser lens 150, and a supporting member 130 that supports the incident face of optical fiber 160. In this structure, the supporting member 130 is spot-fused with a laser beam 101. By doing so, the supporting member 130 is deformed so that light 141 condensed by the condenser lens 150 is incident upon the incident face of the optical fiber 160.
So as to obtain a necessary amount of distortion to adjust optical axes in the above conventional structure, however, it is necessary to adjust the intensity of the laser beam 101 or to increase the number of times to emit the laser beam 101. As a result, adjusting the intensity of the laser beam 101 involves sensitive work, and the laser beam 101 is emitted an increased number of times. These problems cause further problems such as a complicated production method and an increase in the costs.